The U.S. economy enters June with a good deal of momentum. US jobs growth was faster than expected in the last month, as employers added 223,000 jobs, a faster pace than last year or the year before. This helps lowering the unemployment rate to an 18-year low of 3.8 percent. In the previous month, the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent.
Comparing this year with a year earlier, the average hourly pay increased about 2.7 percent. According to the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report, This is a slightly faster annual pace than in April. Wage growth was respectable too. Executives at many companies complain they can’t find enough workers, but the pay growth remained below levels that are common when the unemployment rate is this low.

The interest rate swap scandal will probably go down in British financial history as one of the more embarrassing moments when bank management let themselves be led by greed rather than smart business.

Like most schemes, the idea seemed great at the time and very profitable. However, society has a long history of tipping the scales when an abuse goes too far. And in the case of the interest rate swaps fiasco, that’s exactly what happened.